# CVE-2019-16009: Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE Software Web UI Cross-Site Request Forgery Vulnerability

> An attacker can trick an admin into clicking a link to execute arbitrary commands or change configurations on Cisco IOS devices.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 23 Sep 2020
- **Updated:** 13 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2c3m-f6hh-4v8q

## What is CVE-2019-16009?

CVE-2019-16009 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cisco Ios, published on 23 Sep 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the web UI of Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct a cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attack on an affected system. The vulnerability is due to insufficient CSRF protections for the web UI on an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by persuading a user of the interface to follow a malicious link. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to perform arbitrary actions with the privilege level of the targeted user. If the user has administrative privileges, the attacker could alter the configuration, execute commands, or reload an affected device.

Weakness: CWE-352 (Cross-Site Request Forgery)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-16009?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Cisco Ios, Cisco Ios Xe.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-16009?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-16009 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-16009 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-16009 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Ios

- [CVE-2017-12240](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-12240/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software DHCP Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-3881](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3881/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-0167](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0167/): Cisco IOS, XR, and XE Software Buffer Overflow (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-6736](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6736/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software SNMP Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-6737](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6737/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software SNMP Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-16009 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-16009 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cisco Ios, published on 23 Sep 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-16009 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Ios. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16009/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16009/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-16009
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-16009
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-16009

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16009/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.